Air blower and blowing method

ABSTRACT

An air blower having an air suction port, vanes, for being propelled about a shaft by air vacuumed towards the air suction port, and blades fixed to the vanes, the blades for blowing air upon propelling thereof, together with the vanes, thereby allowing utilizing an external vacuum machine connected to the air suction port for blowing air, thereby the air blower is lightweight in relation to the air blown therefrom.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of air blowers. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for blowing air using the energy of another appliance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A residential fan, for example, of 100 watts, is too heavy to be portable, and the force of the air blown thereby is insufficient for blowing leaves.

Thus, air blowers, such as leaf blowers, typically use internal combustion engines, due to the relatively high power requirement therefrom.

However, these engines are noisy and are not suited for applications within a building, due to the pollution thereof.

All the methods described above have not yet provided satisfactory solutions to the need of a lightweight and powerful air blower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above-mentioned and other problems of the prior art.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for providing a lightweight and powerful air blower.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to an air blower (10), comprising:

-   -   an air suction port (24);     -   vanes (22), for being propelled about a shaft (32) by air         vacuumed (14) towards the air suction port (24); and     -   blades (26) fixed to the vanes (22), the blades (26) for blowing         air (12) upon propelling thereof, together with the vanes (22),

thereby allowing utilizing an external vacuum machine (54) connected to the air suction port (24) for blowing air (12),

thereby the air blower (10) is lightweight in relation to the air (12) blown therefrom.

The air blower (10) may further comprise:

-   -   an air inlet (20), for allowing air to enter the air suction         port (24).

The air inlet (20) preferably is disposed shifted from the shaft (32),

for vacuuming air (14A) onto the vanes (22) to be propelled, and

for substantially not allow air (14B) to be vacuumed onto the vanes (22) moving to the opposite direction.

The air blower (10) may further comprise:

-   -   a handle (18), for holding the air blower (10) independently.

The vanes (22), for being propelled by air vacuumed (14) towards the air suction port (24), may comprise parallel-flow vanes, for moving parallel to the air vacuum (14) direction.

The blades (26) for blowing air (12) may comprise parallel-flow blades for moving parallel to the blown air (12).

The blades (26) for blowing air (12) may comprise perpendicular-flow blades, for moving perpendicular to the blown air (12).

The fixing of the blades (26) to the vanes (22) may comprise fixing the blades (26) and the vanes (22) to the shaft (32) being shared thereby.

The fixing of the blades (26) to the vanes (22) may comprise fixing the blades (26) and the vanes (22) by a belt (36).

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to an air blowing method comprising the steps of:

-   -   resiliently connecting an external vacuum machine (54) to an air         suction port (24) of an accessory;     -   propelling vanes (22) by air, vacuumed by the vacuum machine         (54) through the air suction port (24) of the accessory;     -   propelling blades (26) by the vanes (22) fixed to the blades         (26); and     -   blowing air (12) by the blades (26),

thereby utilizing the external vacuum machine (54) connected to the air suction port (24), for blowing air (12).

The reference numbers have been used to point out elements in the embodiments described and illustrated herein, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. They are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. Also, the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated in conjunction with systems and methods thereof, which are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a disassembled view of an air blower according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air blower of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts the air blower of FIG. 1 ready to operate.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an air blower according to another embodiment.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments (“best mode”), which are meant to be descriptive and not limiting. For the sake of brevity, some well-known features, methods, systems, procedures, components, circuits, and so on, are not described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a disassembled view of an air blower, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

An air blower 10 includes a handle 18 for holding the air blower independent from a vacuum cleaner; an air suction port 24, for connecting a vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner thereto, for receiving air sucking flow power; an air inlet 20, for allowing air to enter air suction port 24; vanes 22 for being propelled by the air flow 14 vacuumed from inlet 20 to outlet 24; a package 28, for packaging vanes 22, for avoiding air flow other than air flow 14 between inlet 20 and outlet 24; and blades 26 for blowing air 12.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the air blower of FIG. 1.

Blades 26 are fixed to vanes 22 via a shared shaft 32.

The term “axial-flow vanes” refers to vanes moving parallel to the air flow.

Vanes 22 are parallel-flow vanes, as they move parallel to the air flow 14.

The term “perpendicular-flow blades” refers to blades moving perpendicular to the air flow.

Blades 26 are perpendicular-flow blades, as they move perpendicular to the air flow 12 they produce.

Package 28 is designed such that air inlet 20 thereof preferably must not be disposed facing shaft 32, but rather must be disposed shifted to the side of shaft 32, such that air flow 14 entering air inlet 20 includes flow 14A at one side encountering the vanes 22A to be blown, such that flow 14B at the other side is not present, for not encountering the vanes 22B moving in the opposite direction.

FIG. 3 depicts the air blower of FIG. 1 ready to operate.

Thus, upon resiliently connecting a hose 16 of a vacuum machine 54 to outlet 24, for sucking air from outlet 24, blades 26 blow air 12. Thus, air blower 10 may function as a leaf blower.

Most of the components of air blower 10 may be lightweight materials, such as plastic, thus providing convenient holding by handle 18. Thus, air blower 10 may be advantaged of being very strong, depending on the airflow 14 produced by the vacuum cleaner, in relation to the weight thereof.

For example, air blower 10 being a relatively lightweight accessory, e.g., 200 grams, may be connected to even a high-powered central vacuum cleaner, e.g., 3 kW, together providing massive air blow 12. Thus, preferably air blower 10 should include a grill 30, for avoiding injury by blades 26.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an air blower according to another embodiment.

In this embodiment, blades 26 of FIG. 1, being perpendicular-flow blades, are replaced by axial-flow blades 38.

The rotary movement about shaft 32 is converted to rotary movement of blades 38 about a shaft 52 moved by a belt 36. Blades 38 are packaged within a package 44, including an air outlet 42 for releasing the blown air 12, and an air inlet 40.

In the figures and/or description herein, the following reference numerals (Reference Signs List) have been mentioned:

-   -   numeral 10 denotes an air blower, according to one embodiment of         the present invention;     -   numeral 12 denotes the blown air as the product;     -   numeral 14, 14A, and 14B denote intake air flows produced by a         vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner;     -   numeral 16 denotes a hose of the vacuum machine;     -   numeral 18 denotes a handle;     -   numeral 20 denotes an air inlet;     -   numeral 22 denotes vanes;     -   numeral 24 denotes an air outlet;     -   numeral 26 denotes a blade for blowing air;     -   numeral 28 denotes a package of the vanes;     -   numeral 30 denotes a grill for physical protection;     -   numeral 32 denotes a shaft;     -   numeral 36 denotes a joining belt;     -   numeral 38 denotes a blade for blowing air;     -   numeral 40 denotes an air inlet;     -   numeral 42 denotes an air outlet;     -   numeral 44 denotes a package;     -   numeral 52 denotes a shaft; and     -   numeral 54 denotes a vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner.

In the description herein, the following references have been mentioned:

The foregoing description and illustrations of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the above description in any form.

Any term that has been defined above and used in the claims, should to be interpreted according to this definition.

The reference numbers in the claims are not a part of the claims, but rather used for facilitating the reading thereof. These reference numbers should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any form. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An air blower, comprising: an air suction port; vanes, for being propelled about a shaft by air vacuumed towards said air suction port; and blades fixed to said vanes, said blades for blowing air upon propelling thereof, together with said vanes, thereby allowing utilizing an external vacuum machine connected to said air suction port for blowing air, thereby said air blower is lightweight in relation to the air blown therefrom.
 2. An air blower according to claim 1, further comprising: an air inlet, for allowing air to enter said air suction port.
 3. An air blower according to claim 2, wherein said air inlet is disposed shifted from said shaft, for vacuuming air onto the vanes to be propelled, and for substantially not allowing air to be vacuumed onto the vanes moving in the opposite direction.
 4. An air blower according to claim 1, further comprising: a handle, for holding said air blower independently.
 5. An air blower according to claim 1, wherein said vanes for being propelled by air vacuumed towards said air suction port comprise parallel-flow vanes, for moving parallel to the air vacuum direction.
 6. An air blower according to claim 1, wherein said blades for blowing air comprise parallel-flow blades for moving parallel to the blown air.
 7. An air blower according to claim 1, wherein said blades for blowing air comprise perpendicular-flow blades, for moving perpendicular to the blown air.
 8. An air blower according to claim 1, wherein said fixing of said blades to said vanes comprises fixing said blades and said vanes to said shaft being shared thereby.
 9. An air blower according to claim 1, wherein said fixing of said blades to said vanes comprises fixing said blades and said vanes by a belt.
 10. An air blowing method comprising the steps of: resiliently connecting an external vacuum machine to an air suction port of an accessory; propelling vanes by air, vacuumed by said vacuum machine through said air suction port of said accessory; propelling blades by said vanes fixed to said blades; and blowing air by said blades, thereby utilizing said external vacuum machine connected to said air suction port, for blowing air. 